"As part of the wider Northern Nevada community here in Reno, we want to celebrate our heritage, but we also want to make sure that we are part of a community that wants to decide our future together," Eric Jeng, Executive Director of One APIA Nevada told KTVN. He adds that he hopes the Asian Pacific Islander community will get out and make their voices heard.

"Nevadans have an opportunity to enshrine reproductive rights in our state Constitution this election year. Do not let your assumptions about the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community and culture allow you to write off my community's passion and support for advancing reproductive rights in Nevada and across the country. It’s incumbent upon all of us to ensure reproductive rights are a top priority as folks go to the polls in November. Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander voters, such as myself, can make their voices heard by showing support for abortion rights and reproductive care in the hope this will address some of the barriers facing our communities."

“As an organization that has recruited dozens of non-partisan election protection observers and volunteer shifts, we know that democracy is on the line,” remarks One APIA Nevada Acting Executive Director Eric Jeng. “Exercising our right to vote is sacred and the hard-working election workers should be free from fear and intimidation. We thank Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar and his office for proposing and working with community partners on SB406 as well as county registrars and their teams for their service.”

Amy Koo - acting deputy director of ONE APIA Nevada - said health care in the U.S. is "convoluted" as is, but adds SB 163 would help recognize and streamline gender-affirming health care for folks in Nevada, setting what she calls a model for the rest of the country. Koo said it is important to note a bill like this doesn't necessarily make it easier to access gender-affirming care, but aims to remove outside barriers.

A growing voting bloc that could make difference in this year’s elections. The Asian American Pacific Islander community has been the fastest growing in southern Nevada and is becoming a targeted group for potential votes. 

Amy Koo, political director with One APIA Nevada, was a first-generation college student whose parents immigrated from China. Because her parents didn’t speak English at all, she had to navigate the financial aid system and figure out how to budget her expenses by herself.

Amy Koo, deputy political director for One APIA Nevada and a former Reno resident, said the Silver State has its own history of racism against Asian Americans. She's seen a rise in discrimination and violence against the Asian American community in Las Vegas over the last year. 

In Nevada Filipino Americans illustrate the complexity of voter outreach efforts. They have a high interest in and engagement with health care, including in occupations like nursing and hospital work, which may have put them on the front lines during the pandemic, in addition to the possibility of having experienced anti-AAPI racism associated with the virus.

Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a candidate forum on infrastructure at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in Las Vegas on Sunday, Feb. 16.

“Livelihoods are being squeezed,” Amy said. “People who are working in casinos, or people who have been the backbone of this economy for decades, are now no longer able to afford to live here, and even people who have good jobs are struggling. That's the basis of why people are so stressed about good education. Because if you're already starting from a disadvantage, and throughout your educational career you're always at a disadvantage, then you're never going to able to catch up in this rat race.”

"We're talking about housing justice. We are talking about food security and food sovereignty. This is important for us because Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander, just by the acronym itself is not the monolith. There is no model minority-- we need to dispel that myth, that Asians are high achievers or they're successful in this area or that area."

Eric Jeng, deputy director of One APIA Nevada, said the 5,000-person threshold was set after conversations with the secretary of state’s office and county election officials, putting the number at a level that is “operational for Nevadans that also achieved the equitable process that we want to bridge that barrier.”

Eric Jeng, Deputy Director of non-partisan Asian political organizer One APIA Nevada, said he knows the Silver State has been critical for candidates from both parties with their eyes set on taking the White House.

"I'm standing here in the heart of Asiatown, where just two years ago, I believe, the Democratic candidates all came here," he said.

With a live DJ and ice-cold matcha tea, organizers hyped up voters — both new and old. The event was meant to drive Asian and Pacific Islander voters in the area to the polls.

Early data shows that white voters again heavily backed Donald Trump this cycle, but it's a diverse coalition of younger voters and people of color who helped push Joe Biden over the edge in Nevada and nationwide. 

Fast forward 25 years and the nexus of entrepreneurial design and public service have contributed to a boom in the Asian population here. According to the latest census, more than 220,000 Asian Americans live in Las Vegas today, triple the numbers from two decades ago. In fact, Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group in our region.

The Clark County Commission on Tuesday appointed two women to fill vacant seats in the state Assembly, making Nevada the first state in the country with a majority-female Legislature.

“We’re trying to create a movement to keep people engaged. The Asian-American/Pacific Islander vote has been often overlooked. A lot of the older folks are saying this is the first time anyone has asked them about issues like health care, education and immigration.”

"We're one of the only states that had more AAPI voters vote for the first time in 2022 than in 2018," said Koo. "That's an indicator of how much our community has grown and how crucial we are to the margin of victory."

“This budget supports the very fabric that makes our communities strong,” said Eric Jeng, acting executive director of ONE APIA in a news conference. “These programs are mission-critical for our community. We are disappointed but hopeful for negotiations that put our communities and our families first.”

The Las Vegas-based Asian Community Development Council hosts “GraduAsian” for local college students to attend in cultural garb to “be able to honor their ancestors’ sacrifices, their families’ sacrifice, to be there,” said Eric Jeng from One APIA Nevada, which also advocates for people of Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) heritage.

They are sending out mailers in multiple Asian languages and placing ads in local Korean, Chinese and Tagalog-language newspapers. Traditional Filipino kamayan communal dinners have become regular stops on the Nevada campaign trail; so have small businesses in Chinatown and local mosques and temples.

Today One APIA Nevada was stationed outside the popular voting site in the Spring Valley area of Las Vegas with free COVID-19 tests, stickers that read “Hot people vote!” and other resources for voters.

The increasing number of AAPI voters in the state has required campaigns to dial up outreach that’s historically been lacking, particularly as candidates seek new sources of support during a competitive primary.

As Harris courts votes ahead of Nevada’s first-in-the-West caucus, the two minority groups likely will play a key role in her results here. The APIA community makes up about 1 in 10 voters in Nevada, according to One APIA Nevada, a nonprofit that advocates for policies empowering that minority group. Latinos, meanwhile, account for about 19 percent of eligible voters in the state.

According to the latest Census estimates, more than 220,000 Asian-Americans live here today — triple what the population was at the start of the millennium. Most Asian-Americans living in the county were born overseas, and thousands more immigrate to the Las Vegas Valley every year, many of whom are choosing to settle in the valley’s rapidly developing southwest quadrant.

"I think the initial reaction from everyone in the APIA community is just horror. The violence here that we saw yesterday, is not just one instance of violence, it's a culture of violence and it's a culture of not understanding, a whole community. I would really urge everyone you know during this time to really be compassionate to all of the different community members."